iPad 2 iOS 8 Performance

[CB1234]

I updated my iPad 2 last night to 8.1.1 and didn't have much time to check any improvements before hitting the sack...

This morning I have been on the iPad 2 for the last couple of hours, and the safari speed has come back, as it used to be on iOS 7... Even the stutters I had when switching apps and in general are gone. My iPad 2 is running very very smoothly. I am well chuffed....

Thank you for giving my iPad back....

 

[UnDholly]

my iPad 2 after 8.1.1 work great. 8.1 more slowly...

 

[oldmacs]

It's not quite up to iOS 7.1.2 speeds, but 8.1.1 has given my iPad 2 a boost. Less stuttering, Safari is faster, less pause before apps opening, battery seems to be better, Safari not reloading as much!!!!!!

Quite happy. Perhaps 8.2 will be even better?

 

[Dino F]

It's not quite up to iOS 7.1.2 speeds, but 8.1.1 has given my iPad 2 a boost. Less stuttering, Safari is faster, less pause before apps opening, battery seems to be better, Safari not reloading as much!!!!!!

Quite happy. Perhaps 8.2 will be even better?

...did you do an OTA update or via iTunes (does it actually make ANY difference in either method)?

 

[oldmacs]

...did you do an OTA update or via iTunes (does it actually make ANY difference in either method)?

I did an OTA update from 8.1 to 8.1.1. I'm not exactly sure if it makes a difference for this small an update. From 7.1.2 to 8 perhaps, but then again I would need to try it to know

 

[Hexley]

Worth the ugprade from 7.1.2? I have a 16GB iPad 2?

 

[RoboWarriorSr]

Worth the ugprade from 7.1.2? I have a 16GB iPad 2?

That's been answered above

 

[oldmacs]

Worth the ugprade from 7.1.2? I have a 16GB iPad 2?

If you don't need the new iOS 8 features... I wouldn't bother. Even though 8.1.1 is an important on 8.1 and 8.0, you're going to take a performance hit.

 

[Danley]

I said it elsewhere. It's better, but not really decent.

Browsing is improved. Typing anything or opening an app feels like a time machine.

 

[Morac]

CoC is not memory intensive since it runs on an old 2011 device with 368MB DRAM. Dead Trigger 2 is something I would classify as memory intensive.

It uses enough memory that it gets unloaded if I do practically anything else since the iPad 2 only had 512 MB of RAM and iOS 7 already uses like 100 MB. Actually because of what I assume are memory leaks, running CoC on my iPad 2 without rebooting every few days actually causes iOS to unload things like iCloud, Game Center and the like and they all fail to load. I would assume that would be worse under iOS 8.

 

[Dino F]

The one good thing about iOS 8.1.1 is that you gain 500mb of storage space.

I had 5.9Gb of actual storage space on my 32gb iPad 2 before the update, but after, it had increased to 6.1gb.

Its also been documented here:

http://www.imore.com/ios-811-will-give-your-ipad-back-about-500-mb-storage-space

 

[beyond]

I turned off javascript and now Safari is turbocharged!

 

[rmeulen]

iPad 2 IOS 8 Performance

Hesitated a lot and this morning took the chance after reading this thread....

8.1.1 is definitely close to 7.1.2 if I look at the performance. With previously running 8.0.2 it was a disaster but now it is back to normal (as far as I can judge).

Happy that all my devices are now back to the latest releases (IOS, OSX) so I can take advantage of the new features like iCloud drive and such.

If you are already on iOS8 with your ipad 2 I would say it is safe to go to 8.1.1.
If you are still on iOS7, its your choice. For me it worked out fine today.

 

[xreei]

Are there any major security bugs that have been left unfixed in 7.1.2?

 

[Morac]

Are there any major security bugs that have been left unfixed in 7.1.2?

Yes. There's a few bugs allowing web sites to run arbitrary code, one allowing SSL to be decrypted and another allowing rogue BlueTooth devices to pair themselves without permission.

Here's a list of all the bug fixes since iOS 7.1.2.

http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201395
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203119
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT6590

Also technically the flaws that allow jail-breaking are also security bugs.

 

[RiderX]

I upgraded my iPad2 today from 7.1.2 to 8.1.1, using iTunes.

Everything is fine, not slower than 7.1.2, Safari even slightly snappier. The first hour after the upgrade was a bit slow due to reindexing, but not a real nuisance. Overall, a pleasant experience.

I would say, go for it, the upgrade gives your iPad 2 another 6-12 months life.

 

[leppermessiah]

iOS 8.1.1 on iPhone 4S and iPad 2: A little faster, kind of, sometimes
http://arstechnica.com/apple/2014/1...and-ipad-2-a-little-faster-kind-of-sometimes/

 

[Morac]

iOS 8.1.1 on iPhone 4S and iPad 2: A little faster, kind of, sometimes
http://arstechnica.com/apple/2014/1...and-ipad-2-a-little-faster-kind-of-sometimes/

The odd thing is that article says how horrible the performance is on the iPhone 4s, iPad 2 and iPad Mini, but the video they put up demonstrating the problems looks great to me. I don't see anything really wrong with it, except maybe when they did that zoom in and out thing over and over again. Other than that it looks great. Nothing like the stuttering and freezes that people have been saying occurs with iOS 8 on older devices.

I'm confused why some people say the iPad 2 runs faster with iOS 8.1 than with iOS 7.1.2 (here's a video demoing it), while others say iOS 8.1 is unusable on their iPad 2.

Why the huge discrepancy?

 

[RiderX]

I'm confused why some people say the iPad 2 runs faster with iOS 8.1 than with iOS 7.1.2 (here's a video demoing it), while others say iOS 8.1 is unusable on their iPad 2.

Why the huge discrepancy?

Same as this video on my ipad2, first gen.

Switch off background app refresh, as the old devices have only limited memory. When surfing, close some unnecessary tabs, as Safari is a memory hog.

 

[oldmacs]

iOS 8 is without a doubt slower in most areas than iOS 7 on the iPad 2. I tested both when iOS 8 was released, and iOS 8 except in a few apps was slower. This may have been improved a bit with 8.1.1, but I know its still not as good. Especially safari. That being said, its also not the end of the world like some people suggest. 8.1.1 improved my iPad 2 a lot, more in terms of multitasking, safari and generally fluidity. Its also far more stable.

The discrepancy is because different people have installed it differently. iOS 8 on the iPad 2 works best with a clean install and no restore from backup, 2nd best with a clean install and restore from backup and worst with an OTA update. Different people also have different settings turned on. Background app refresh is a resource hog, as is auto downloading app updates, unnecessary notifications and unnecessary location settings.

Also I find completely quitting apps helps (In multitasking). Testing done by connecting my iPad 2 to Xcode would show that even when you've exited, many games an apps continue to use ram, which is very limited on the majority of A5 devices.

 

[I7guy]

iOS 8 is without a doubt slower in most areas than iOS 7 on the iPad 2. I tested both when iOS 8 was released, and iOS 8 except in a few apps was slower. This may have been improved a bit with 8.1.1, but I know its still not as good. Especially safari. That being said, its also not the end of the world like some people suggest. 8.1.1 improved my iPad 2 a lot, more in terms of multitasking, safari and generally fluidity. Its also far more stable.

The discrepancy is because different people have installed it differently. iOS 8 on the iPad 2 works best with a clean install and no restore from backup, 2nd best with a clean install and restore from backup and worst with an OTA update. Different people also have different settings turned on. Background app refresh is a resource hog, as is auto downloading app updates, unnecessary notifications and unnecessary location settings.

Also I find completely quitting apps helps (In multitasking). Testing done by connecting my iPad 2 to Xcode would show that even when you've exited, many games an apps continue to use ram, which is very limited on the majority of A5 devices.

As long as I don't notice a difference I'm happy.

 

[Dino F]

Switch off background app refresh, as the old devices have only limited memory. When surfing, close some unnecessary tabs, as Safari is a memory hog.

Background app refresh is a resource hog, as is auto downloading app updates, unnecessary notifications and unnecessary location settings.

Also I find completely quitting apps helps (In multitasking). .

...thanks for these tips - will try them and see if it makes a difference to my iPad 2.

I am finding that iOS 8.1.1, on the whole, is better than 8.1 however, I'm still seeing instances of stuttering, when opening and closing folders containing apps. Its NEVER gonna be as fast as it was in iOS 7 but 8.1.1 is definitely, better than 8.1.

 

[oldmacs]

...thanks for these tips - will try them and see if it makes a difference to my iPad 2.

I am finding that iOS 8.1.1, on the whole, is better than 8.1 however, I'm still seeing instances of stuttering, when opening and closing folders containing apps. Its NEVER gonna be as fast as it was in iOS 7 but 8.1.1 is definitely, better than 8.1.

Try doing a "reset all settings". For whatever reason, it seems to improve performance (But you have to re-set up settings)

 

[Morac]

Try doing a "reset all settings". For whatever reason, it seems to improve performance (But you have to re-set up settings)

And Wifi if you do that. Also if you have ICloud Keychain enabled, if Wifi gets reset on one device it gets reset on all devices. Have no idea why that is, but I've found if I reset all settings on say my iPhone, once I set Wifi back up, my iPad loses Wifi.

 

[Morac]

I decided to upgrade from 7.1.2 to 8.1.1 because of the security flaws in iOS 7 and because I wanted the iOS 8 features. I would call 8.1.1 usable. Overall it's not as fast as 7.1.2, though in some places it is. Background tasks like updating apps can be brutal on the foreground app and lag is prevalent. In some cases doing something as simple as rotating the iPad can take a second or two for the screen to update. Other times it's fine. For example typing this was just as fast as with 7.1.2, faster if you count predictive text.